The 10 Maryland Cities With The Largest Black Population For 2023


We used science and data to determine which cities in Maryland have the largest African American population.

The Black community is one of the fastest growing communities in America this decade.

There are now 42 million people who identify as Black or African American living in America, making up 12% of the total population. According to the most recent American Community Survey, the Black population in Maryland is 1,806,220 - at 29.4% of the total population of Maryland.

The percentage growth of Blacks in America is the third largest percentage change for any race according to the Census's race and ethnicity definition. As most scholars and historians agree, an increase in the diversity in America is a good thing.

We agree.

But how has the increase in the black population impacted Maryland? Which cities and towns in Maryland have seen the greatest increase in its Black population?

We broke down the most recent census data to determine the cities in Maryland with the largest African American population in 2023:

  1. District Heights
  2. Glenarden
  3. Bladensburg
  4. Baltimore
  5. New Carrollton
  6. Bowie
  7. Laurel
  8. Mount Rainier
  9. Cheverly
  10. Greenbelt

What's the blackest city in Maryland? District Heights took the number one over all spot for the largest Black population in Maryland for 2023. See if it ranked as one of the most african american cities in America.

Read on below to see how we crunched the numbers and how your town ranked.

To see where Maryland ranked as a state on diversity, we have a ranking of the most diverse states in America.

And if you already knew these places were Black, check out the best places to live in Maryland or the most diverse places in Maryland.

The 10 Blackest Cities In Maryland For 2023

1. District Heights

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 5,927
% African American: 94.72%
# Of African American Residents: 5,614
Percent Change Since 2010: 7.92%
More on District Heights: Real Estate | Data | Photos

District Heights, MD

2. Glenarden

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 6,341
% African American: 84.64%
# Of African American Residents: 5,367
Percent Change Since 2010: -2.88%
More on Glenarden: Real Estate | Data

Glenarden, MD

3. Bladensburg

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10

Population: 9,591
% African American: 62.48%
# Of African American Residents: 5,992
Percent Change Since 2010: 2.17%
More on Bladensburg: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Bladensburg, MD

Source: Public domain

4. Baltimore

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 592,211
% African American: 60.94%
# Of African American Residents: 360,899
Percent Change Since 2010: -9.13%
More on Baltimore: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Baltimore, MD

Source: Public domain

5. New Carrollton

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 13,574
% African American: 60.8%
# Of African American Residents: 8,253
Percent Change Since 2010: 22.34%
More on New Carrollton: Real Estate | Data | Photos

New Carrollton, MD

6. Bowie

Overall SnackAbility

9.5
/10

Population: 58,113
% African American: 56.55%
# Of African American Residents: 32,862
Percent Change Since 2010: 32.09%
More on Bowie: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Bowie, MD

7. Laurel

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 29,438
% African American: 50.08%
# Of African American Residents: 14,744
Percent Change Since 2010: 27.7%
More on Laurel: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Laurel, MD

8. Mount Rainier

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 8,290
% African American: 47.37%
# Of African American Residents: 3,927
Percent Change Since 2010: -14.87%
More on Mount Rainier: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Mount Rainier, MD

9. Cheverly

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 6,191
% African American: 45.52%
# Of African American Residents: 2,818
Percent Change Since 2010: -9.24%
More on Cheverly: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Cheverly, MD

10. Greenbelt

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 24,602
% African American: 45.0%
# Of African American Residents: 11,070
Percent Change Since 2010: -0.25%
More on Greenbelt: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Greenbelt, MD

Methodology: How We Determined The Cities In Maryland With The Largest Black Population For 2023

We still believe in the accuracy of data -- especially from the census. So that's where we went to get the breakdown of race across Maryland.

That lead us to the Census's most recently available data, the 2017-2021 American Community Survey data from the US Census.

Specifically, we looked at table B03002: Hispanic OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE. Here are the category names as defined by the Census:

  • Hispanic or Latino
  • White alone*
  • Black or African American alone*
  • American Indian and Alaska Native alone*
  • Asian alone*
  • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone*
  • Some other race alone*
  • Two or more races*
* Not Hispanic or latino

Our particular column of interest here was the number of people who identified as Black or African American.

We limited our analysis to non-CDPs with a population greater than 5,000 people. That left us with 39 cities.

We then calculated the percent of residents that are Black or African American. The percentages ranked from 94.7% to 0.4%.

Finally, we ranked each city based on the percent of Black population with a higher score being more Black than a lower score. District Heights took the distinction of being the most Black, while Ocean City was the least African American city. You can download the data here.

Read on for more information on how the cities in Maryland ranked by population of African American residents or, for a more general take on diversity in America, head over to our ranking of the most diverse cities in America.

Summary: Black Populations Across Maryland

If you're looking for a breakdown of African American populations across Maryland according to the most recent data, this is an accurate list.

If you're curious enough, here are the least African American places in Maryland:

  1. Ocean City
  2. Thurmont
  3. Hampstead

For more Maryland reading, check out:

African American Population By City In Maryland

Rank City % African American Population
1 District Heights 94.72% 5,927
2 Glenarden 84.64% 6,341
3 Bladensburg 62.48% 9,591
4 Baltimore 60.94% 592,211
5 New Carrollton 60.8% 13,574
6 Bowie 56.55% 58,113
7 Laurel 50.08% 29,438
8 Mount Rainier 47.37% 8,290
9 Cheverly 45.52% 6,191
10 Greenbelt 45.0% 24,602
11 Cambridge 42.85% 13,026
12 Salisbury 39.28% 32,583
13 Takoma Park 34.43% 17,610
14 La Plata 28.7% 10,054
15 Hyattsville 27.21% 20,790
16 Aberdeen 23.75% 16,176
17 Annapolis 21.92% 40,581
18 Cheste 21.41% 5,557
19 Riverdale Park 20.94% 7,321
20 College Park 20.47% 34,961
21 Hagerstown 17.81% 43,015
22 Frederick 17.11% 76,376
23 Gaithersburg 16.42% 68,827
24 Havre De Grace 15.02% 14,625
25 Elkton 14.91% 15,724
26 Frostburg 14.61% 7,282
27 Easton 13.66% 16,912
28 Rockville 10.09% 67,095
29 Brunswick 9.53% 7,578
30 Taneytown 8.03% 7,183
31 Westminster 7.82% 19,783
32 Chesapeake Beach 7.65% 6,303
33 Walkersville 6.8% 6,134
34 Cumberland 4.27% 19,028
35 Mount Airy 3.4% 9,621
36 Bel Air 3.39% 10,663
37 Hampstead 1.39% 6,273
38 Thurmont 1.3% 6,247
39 Ocean City 0.36% 6,869

How Is The Area In ?

Editor's Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the cities in Maryland with the largest African American population.
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.